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Abishag, the beautiful Shunammite who served King David in his old age and was later sought as a wife by Adonijah.
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Abishag was a beautiful young woman from Shunem who was chosen to serve King David in his old age (1Ki.1.3). She was brought to the king to keep him warm and to attend to his needs, but David did not have sexual relations with her (1Ki.1.4).
After David's death, his son Adonijah, who had previously attempted to claim the throne, approached Bathsheba, Solomon's mother. He requested that she ask King Solomon to give him Abishag as his wife (1Ki.2.17). However, Solomon perceived this request as a challenge to his kingship, as taking the king's concubine was a symbolic claim to the throne (2Sa.16.21-22).
Solomon responded with anger, interpreting Adonijah's request as tantamount to asking for the kingdom itself. He vowed that Adonijah's request would cost him his life (1Ki.2.22-23). Subsequently, Solomon ordered Benaiah to execute Adonijah (1Ki.2.25). The incident with Abishag reveals the political intrigues and power struggles that occurred during the transition of power from David to Solomon. It also underscores the significance of the king's concubines in the context of royal succession in ancient Israel.
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Father of (i.e., “given to”) error, a young woman of Shunem, distinguished for her beauty. She was chosen to minister to David in his old age. She became his wife (1 Kings 1:3, 4, 15). After David’s death Adonijah persuaded Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, to entreat the king to permit him to marry Abishag. Solomon suspected in this request an aspiration to the throne, and therefore caused him to be put to death (1 Kings 2:17-25).
a beautiful Shunammite (from Shunem, in the tribe of Issachar), taken into David’s harem to comfort him in his extreme old age. (1 Kings 1:1-4)
ignorance of the father
AB'ISHAG (father of error), a fair woman of Shunem, in the tribe of Issachar, who was selected by the servants of David to minister to him in his old age and to cherish him, 1 Kgs 1:1-4. After David's death and the ascension of Solomon to the throne, Adonijah desired Abishag in marriage, but Solomon perceived his policy (see Adonijah), and caused him to be put to death. 1 Kgs 2:25.
AB'ISHAG (father of error), a fair woman of Shunem, in the tribe of Issachar, who was selected by the servants of David to minister to him in his old age and to cherish him, 1 Kgs 1:1-4. After David's death and the ascension of Solomon to the throne, Adonijah desired Abishag in marriage, but Solomon perceived his policy (see Adonijah), and caused him to be put to death. 1 Kgs 2:25.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
5 verses in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H0049
Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful girl, and they found Abishag the Shunammite and brought her to the king.
So Bathsheba went to see the king in his bedroom. Since the king was very old, Abishag the Shunammite was serving him.
Adonijah replied, “Please speak to King Solomon, since he will not turn you down. Let him give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.”
So Bathsheba said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as his wife.”
King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Since he is my older brother, you might as well request the kingdom for him and for Abiathar the priest and for Joab son of Zeruiah!”
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.